Rio Ferdinand has admitted that it was “refreshing to see” one Manchester United player’s performance after Ruben Amorim’s men were knocked out of the FA Cup.
Manchester United welcomed Fulham to Old Trafford on Sunday and the Red Devils’ FA Cup title defence came to an end in the fifth round of the competition.
Calvin Bassey fired Fulham into the lead in the first half of injury time and Ruben Amorim’s side were trailing 1-0 at the half-time whistle in the FA Cup tie.
However, United fought back in the second half and the Red Devils climbed back into the contest after Bruno Fernandes found the equaliser with a stunning strike.
Bruno Fernandes’ equaliser sent the fifth-round FA Cup clash to extra time and neither United nor Fulham could find the winner in the 30 additional minutes.
Fulham would ultimately come out on top at Old Trafford during the penalty shootout, with all four of their spot-kick takers converting past Andre Onana.
United’s opening three penalty-kick takers converted in the shootout, but Fulham’s Bernd Leno would deny Joshua Zirkzee and Victor Lindelof from the spot-kick.
Ferdinand says Rasmus Hojlund has been ‘so bad recently’
Fulham punched their ticket to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, while Ruben Amorim’s hopes of lifting major silverware this season are dangling by a thread.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Rio Ferdinand opened up about his frustration over the FA Cup result and slammed Manchester United’s lack of creating chances.
The 46-year-old United legend also singled out struggling Red Devils striker Rasmus Hojlund, who extended his goalscoring drought to 18 matches after Sunday’s defeat.
Rasmus Hojlund was hooked off in the 68th minute against Fulham and Red Devils boss Amorim replaced him with United talent Chido Obi-Martin.
Ferdinand admitted his disappointment over Hojlund’s run of form and pointed out the real difference in the way that fans reacted to Chido Obi-Martin’s performance.
“That result killed me,” he said on Rio Ferdinand Presents.
“I was on the floor. This United side can’t create chances, they can’t score goals. It’s a joke.
“For me, because Hojlund has been so off it and so bad recently, when you saw that kid [Chido Obi] come on, everyone got excited with the little things.”
What Ferdinand spotted from Chido Obi vs Fulham
Ferdinand waxed lyrical about the confidence that Chido Obi-Martin played with on the pitch and said Rasmus Hojlund “looks fearful” in contrast amid his run of form.
“It was refreshing to see from a kid that young,” he continued.
“Hojlund looks fearful on the pitch. Chido is still rough around the edges and you’d expect that given his age.
“But what I have no doubt about is that he will get chances.
“I watched him against my two boys and the way he played against Fulham was [the] exact the same. The ball falls and he’s there.”
United will now return to Europa League action on Thursday evening with their first-leg round-of-16 tie against Real Sociedad away from home.
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